LONDON – Sex education should be taught to children from the age of five to give them the skills and confidence to delay sexual intimacy until they are ready, a British health watchdog said on Thursday.

Inadequate sex education at a young age is widely seen as contributing to Britain’s steep rate of teenage conception, still amongst the highest in Europe despite a 13 percent fall over the past decade.

The latest guidance from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is in draft form and will not be compulsory, but the agency said it expected local authorities and others to follow it.